Bogus Bills Get Woman 1 Year, 1 Day In Federal Pen

April 17, 2009|By Mike Gangloff The Roanoke Times

Putting counterfeit money in a hotel safe, taking the real bills already there, and then getting caught with a pound of marijuana while awaiting sentencing cost a Roanoke woman a federal prison sentence of a year and a day.

Karen Nicole Covington, who was 35 when she pleaded guilty in December, also must pay $6,391 restitution and will be under federal probation office supervision for three years after leaving prison, U.S. District Court Judge James Turk ruled Tuesday in a hearing in Roanoke.

Covington was an accounting clerk at the Roanoke Plaza Hotel when she took $6,000 from the hotel safe and used it to buy $9,500 in counterfeit $100 notes.

She replaced the hotel money with some of the fake currency and tried to deposit other counterfeit bills at a bank.

Discussion at her sentencing hearing centered on whether Covington should receive credit for accepting responsibility for her action, a factor that would lower federal sentencing guidelines that called for an eight- to 14-month prison term.

Weighing against her was an incident that occurred after her December plea and that likely will bring her before a state court. When Covington was stopped on Interstate 81, a pound of marijuana was found in her car, said her attorney, Bob Rider of Roanoke.

"Admittedly, it was not a wise thing to do to go out and buy a pound of marijuana," he said.

Covington likely will be indicted by a Botetourt County grand jury in June, he said.